Autopolis

Autopolis (オートポリス, Ōtoporisu) is a 4.673 km (2.904 mi) international racing circuit located near Kamitsue village in Ōita Prefecture, Japan on the 30 km (19 mi) northeast of Kumamoto.[1] Opened in 1990, it hosts a range of domestic and international motorsport events throughout the year. The track is noted to have a high standard of facilities and infrastructure. Due to the circuit ending up in financial difficulties, it has changed hands several times but still operates to this day.

Autopolis Circuit
Full Circuit (1990–present)
LocationKamitsue village, in
Hita City, Ōita Prefecture, Japan
Time zoneUTC+09:00
Coordinates33°2′13″N 130°58′22.9″E
FIA Grade2
OwnerKawasaki Motors Corporation Japan (2005–present)
OpenedNovember 1990
Construction cost¥47 billion
ArchitectYoshitoshi Sakurai
Major eventsCurrent:
Super GT
(1999, 2003–2009, 2011–2015, 2017–2019, 2021–present)
Super Formula (1991–1992, 2006, 2009–present)
Super Taikyu
MFJ Superbike
Former:
TCR Japan (2019–2021)
FR Japan (2020)
Asia Road Racing Championship (2009–2014)
Formula V6 Asia (2007)
Asian Touring Car Series (2003–2005, 2007)
World Sportscar Championship (1991)
Websitewww.autopolis.jp
Full Circuit (1990–present)
Length4.673 km (2.904 miles)
Turns19
Race lap record1:26.960 (Japan Naoki Yamamoto, Dallara SF19, 2020, Super Formula)
Main Circuit (1990–present)
Length3.022 km (1.877 miles)
Turns12

History

The circuit, located within Aso Kujū National Park, was built at a cost of $500 million by the wealthy real-estate developer and investment banker Tomonori Tsurumaki who made headlines in 1989, when during a Paris auction, he successfully bid a Pablo Picasso painting Les Noces de Pierrette for $51.3 million from his Tokyo hotel room. Following his successful bid, he announced that his painting was to hang at the art gallery of the auto racing resort, under development at the time.[2]

The circuit was designed by Yoshitoshi Sakurai who was the project leader of the Honda F1 team during the 1960s.[3]

Tsurumaki ordered 30 Buick powered US built single seater race cars called "Sabre Cars" for a race to take place on his circuit's grand opening, on November 1990 consisting of a mixture of invited US CART drivers such as Stan Fox, Johnny Rutherford, Dick Simon, Gary and Tony Bettenhausen, against local Japanese drivers. After the grand opening, Tsurumaki planned on a series with the cars, known as Formula Crane 45. A few races were run in 1991, with only a handful of cars competing.

The only major international race held at Autopolis was the final race of the 1991 World Sportscar Championship season, the 1991 430km of Autopolis, which was won by Michael Schumacher and Karl Wendlinger in a Mercedes-Benz C291 fielded by Sauber.

To promote the venue's intention to host a Formula One race, it sponsored the Benetton Formula One team in 1990 and 1991. The cars featured prominent Autopolis logos. Visitors to the WSC event criticized the track for being too remote to the hotels which required a several hours bus ride and felt that it was unsuitable for an F1 race.

Following the bankruptcy and collapse of Tsurumaki's company Nippon Tri-Trust in 1993 (the year the track was supposed to hold an F1 race),[4] the circuit and other assets he owned ended up in the hands of Hazama who was responsible for the construction of the race track.[5] Ultimately, the track's F1 event slot for the Asian GP on 11 April 1993 was given to Donington Park, and TI Circuit Aida would host a second Japanese race in Formula One calendar in 1994, but suffered from the same location-related criticism and was removed at the end of the following season.[6]

By 1995, the company offered the site for sale at 10% of its build cost which consisted of three hotels, swimming pools and an artificial ski slope. Some of Tsurumaki's assets, such as paintings, remained in a bank vault waiting to be sold.[7]

Autopolis first hosted a Super GT race in 1999, the season-ending exhibition race, which was won by Tom Coronel and Hidetoshi Mitsusada in a Honda NSX-GT fielded by Nakajima Racing. After a three-year absence, the circuit has regularly been hosting races in the series since 2003, although with some exceptions. Autopolis first held a Super Formula race in 2006, and with some exceptions, the track has regularly been part of the series since then.

Autopolis was purchased by Kawasaki in 2005.[8]

The circuit currently holds events for the Super GT as well as D1 Grand Prix, Super Formula, MFJ Superbike and Super Taikyu.

In March 2019, the circuit was added to the video game Gran Turismo Sport through a game update.[9] It has also been featured in Need for Speed: ProStreet, Need for Speed: Shift and Shift 2: Unleashed.

The circuit

The circuit is located in an upland area of the island which means the air is thin with low atmospheric pressure, similar to Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City. It has an elevation change of over 50 m (160 ft) with the first section generally downhill and the latter part of the course runs uphill.[1] The start/finish straight is located at an altitude of 820 m (2,690 ft).[10]

Autopolis Pit Lane Autopolis From Mountainside Autopolis Entry Gate Autopolis racing circuit.

Lap records

As of October 2022, the fastest official race lap records at the Autopolis are listed as:[11]

CategoryTimeDriverVehicleEvent
Grand Prix Circuit: 4.673 km (1990–present)
Super Formula1:26.960[12]Naoki YamamotoDallara SF192020 Autopolis Super Formula round
Formula Nippon1:29.994[13]Hironobu YasudaSwift FN092012 Autopolis Formula Nippon round
Group C1:30.615[14]Yannick DalmasPeugeot 905 Evo 1 Bis1991 430 km of Autopolis
Formula 30001:34.225[15]Mauro MartiniLola T92/501992 Autopolis Japanese F3000 round
Super GT (GT500)1:34.829[16]Kenta YamashitaToyota GR Supra GT5002021 Autopolis Super GT round
Super Formula Lights1:37.114[17]Sena SakaguchiDallara 3202020 Super Formula Lights Autopolis round
Formula Three1:38.646[18]Sho TsuboiDallara F3172017 Autopolis Japanese F3 round
Formula Regional1:43.165[19]Yuga FurutaniDome F111/32020 Autopolis FRJC round
Super GT (GT300)1:44.481[20]Yuhki NakayamaToyota Prius PHV GR Sport GT3002021 Autopolis Super GT round
GT31:47.091[21]Tatsuya KataokaMercedes-AMG GT32019 300 km of Autopolis
Formula Renault 3.51:47.298[11]Armaan EbrahimTatuus FRV62007 Autopolis Formula Renault V6 Asia round
IMSA GTS1:49.061[22]Steve MillenNissan 300ZX1994 IMSA GT in Japan
Formula 41:53.075[23]Syun KoideDome F1102022 Autopolis Japanese F4 round
Supersport1:53.825[24]Katsuaki FujiwaraKawasaki Ninja ZX-6R2013 Autopolis ARRC round
Formula BMW1:55.339[25]Marchy LeeMygale FB022004 Autopolis Formula BMW Asia round
Group A1:55.768[26]Kazuyoshi HoshinoNissan Skyline GT-R BNR321993 Autopolis JTCC round
TCR Touring Car1:56.798[27]Takuro ShinoharaAudi RS 3 LMS TCR2020 Autopolis TCR Japan round

Events
Current
Former

References
  1. 15 Oct 2010 - 17 Oct 2010 Autopolis International Circuit, Japan - afos.com Archived 18 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Japanese Developer Buys Picasso at Record Price - New York Times
  3. F1 News - Grandprix.com > GP Encyclopedia > Circuits > Nippon Autopolis
  4. Yakuza: Japan's Criminal Underworld By David E. Kaplan, Alec Dubro
  5. The Art of a Failed Economy | www.japaninc.com
  6. Cooper, Adam (April 17, 2020). "Why Japan's second F1 race didn't take off". Motorsport.com. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  7. F1 News - Grandprix.com: Autopolis going to the wall
  8. Kawasaki Takes Over Autopolis Racing Course - News Releases KHI Archived January 2, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  9. "Gran Turismo Sport 1.34 Update Now Available: Five New Cars, Autopolis Circuit and More". GTPlanet. 5 March 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  10. Google Earth
  11. "Autopolis Fastest Lap Comparison". Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  12. "2020 Autopolis Super Formula". Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  13. "2012 Autopolis Formula Nippon". Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  14. "Sportscar World Championship Autopolis 1991". Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  15. "1992 Autopolis Japanese F3000". Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  16. "2021 Round 6 Autopolis GT500 Results". Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  17. "2020 Autopolis Super Formula Lights - Round 10". Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  18. "2017 Autopolis Japanese F3 - Round 17". Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  19. "FRJC Autopolis Round 14 Results" (PDF). 12 December 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  20. "2021 Round 6 Autopolis GT300 Results". Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  21. "Autopolis 300 Kilometres 2019". Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  22. "IMSA GT Autopolis 1994". Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  23. "2022 Japanese F4 Round 12 Results" (PDF). 2 October 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  24. "2013 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship Round 5 Autopolis International Racing Course, Japan September 8, 2013 SuperSports 600cc Race 1" (PDF). Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  25. "2004 Formula BMW Asia - Round 9 - Autopolis - Race". 5 September 2004. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  26. "1993 All-Japan Touring Car Championship 2nd round - Autopolis". Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  27. "2020 TCR Japan Autopolis Round 4 Saturday Race Results" (PDF). 14 November 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
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